Young Adults’ Construction of Differentiated Citizenship in a Post-Conflict State: The ‘In-Between Generation’ between National and Local Levels in Timor-Leste

Theories of citizenship often stress the relation between individuals and states, their rights and responsibilities. Consequently, relationships of governance on sub-state and community levels are neglected. This research analyses how young adults construct citizenship by navigating the space between national and local, democratic and customary forms of governance, in the post-conflict and post-colonial context of Timor-Leste. As young adults in Timor-Leste occupy the position of an ‘in-between-generation’, their perspectives illuminate the process of (nation-)state-building and citizenship construction from both the inside and the outside.

SoSCo researcher(s) involved: Sara ten Brinke (sarabrinke[at]gmail.com)

Key publications

ten Brinke, S.S. (2016). Liberating the People - Young Adults, Political Reconciliation and Constitution in Timor-Leste. In Sarah Smith, Antero B. da Silva, Nuno Canas Mendes, Alarico da Costa Ximenes, Clinton Fernandes & Michael Leach (Eds.), Timor-Leste - The Local, the Regional, the Global Hawthorn: Swinburne Press.